Electrical Storm
A huge thunder storm just off the coast of Ibiza
A huge thunder storm just off the coast of Ibiza
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Oct, 2014Views
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BenjaminHornePhotography
December 27, 2018
Mother Nature at her worst (or is it her finest) show of fury
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from the town of Santa Eulalia on the East coast of Ibiza. I was looking towards the North of the island past the tourist resort of Es Cana towards Cala San Vicente.Time
I was woken up my flashes of light about about 01.30 in the morning. I immediately grabbed my camera equipment and ran to the roof terrace. I was actually capturing images of another storm in a different direction, but as that one was dying out the one in the picture was really beginning to build. At about 03.00 I jumped in the car and headed to the beach to get a clearer shot.Lighting
When you see the opportunity to capture a storm like this take it. The sense of accomplishment and achievement is wonderful when you create shots like these. Always remember to be safe though, the last thing you want is to be struck my lightning so always assess your surroundings. This storm was several miles away and not overhead so I deemed it safe. That being said if you are going out by yourself tell someone where you are going and check in with them at regular intervals, storms can change directions in a second - if your buddy hasn't heard from you then they know something is wrong.Equipment
Camera: Canon 5D Mark iii Lens: Canon 24 - 105mm f4.0. The lens was set as wide as possible at 24mm The camera was mounted on a tripod. External intervelometer set to take a picture every 13 seconds. Camera settings: 10 second exposure. ISO 1600. f4.0.Inspiration
I have recently really got into Time-lapse photography and videography and I really wanted to capture a storm - this was the perfect opportunity and I went for it. I have seen some beautiful photos of storms and lightning bolts and for years I have wanted to capture nature in it's rawest form, this was my chance. The time-lapse video created from this turned out perfectly.Editing
Yes this picture is actually 5 pictures merged together. The background pic I chose was the best on to show the storm cloud in all of it's glory. After that I layered the other photos on top just showing the lightning bolts. All the images were shot in RAW so I applied the normal amendments to bring out the best in the photos. Bring down the highlights, boost the shadows, set the black and white points. And I went quite heavy on the magenta slider.In my camera bag
Cameras: Canon 5D Mark iii & Nikon D5100 Lenses: Canon 24 - 105mm, Tokina 11-16mm, Nikon 35mm, Tamron 18-270mm 2 tripods. Intervelometers Canon 430 EX ii Speedlight Spare batteries Spare memory cardsFeedback
If you're looking to capture lightning just keep shooting for as long as possible. Lightning is very unpredictable and you never know when the next bolt will be - you would be exceptionally lucky to hold the camera and just happen to take a photo at the right time. The only way to make sure you get the lightning forks is to use a long exposure. I was finding anywhere between 7 and 13 seconds was working well for me. If you have an intervelometer or built in timer in your camera set the camera settings how you want them and mount it on tripod. Do a couple of test shots to make sure it looks good and then set it going. Resist the urge to keep checking and touching your equipment, any movement on the camera will cause motion blur on the image. The picture here was a 10 second exposure, ISO, f4.0 You will want to ramp the ISO up a little, to make the image sensor more sensitive to any light, but remember the lower the number the less noise you will experience - its all about finding the right balance.
